


Crow's Gambit

by Gavo



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Action & Romance, Angst, F/M, Heist, Humor, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-06 13:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15195491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gavo/pseuds/Gavo
Summary: Taking place just a day before 11/20, Makoto has found out that Sae won't be home to see the calling card; She'll be attending a ball, hosted by none other than Masayoshi Shido.  Faced with no other option, Akechi devises a plan to get inside the ball and deliver the calling card directly in the Phantom Thieves' first ever real life heist.  All the while, tensions among the team are at an all-time high.  Ryuji is questioning his own conviction, Ren is doubting his abilities as a leader, Haru and Futaba are faced with impossible feelings, and Makoto's fear for her sister is causing her to become distant.  With the deadline nearing, it becomes a race against time to put together a plan and complete their objective.  All the while, Akechi's inner turmoil comes to a head as his true feelings come in direct opposition to his secret mission.  Loyalties will be tested, and feelings will be either accepted...or rejected.  This is the story of the other Wild Card.





	1. Not The Time, Nor The Place

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is the very first chapter of a fic I've been thinking of making for a while now. If the paragraphs seem a bit large, that's because the entire chapter is one large action scene. Don't worry, the rest of the story will be much more..."calm," I should say. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated! I hope you guys like it!

11/14

“So my other Trickster, why don’t you give me your side of the story?”

 

Deep within Mementos, the Phantom Thieves that have taken Japan by storm, are hard at work. Having taken down the Shadow versions of Yohei Kiritani and Mitsuyo Togo, the Thieves just finished their third target.

 

Ren Amamiya, their leader, emerged from the blood-red, warped portal leading back into the twisted train tracks-adorned labyrinth the team had become accustomed to over the last six months. Ann Takamaki, the team’s moral compass, clad in a red latex suit, began speaking. “Geez, who knew Shinya’s mom would be so...difficult.” Makoto Niijima, Ren’s second-in-command and team planner, responded to her groaning teammate. “Considering her son’s tenacity, are you really surprised that’s an inherited trait?” As Ann sighed, Yusuke Kitagawa, the team’s forger and resident eccentric artist, chimed in with his own thoughts. “You know, there’s an American expression about that. I believe it involves apples and bushes…” Futaba Sakura, the team’s navigator, took her chance to take a crack at her fox-masked friend. “Oh Inari, we really need to work on your Eng-” Her sentence was cut short by their leader with an ear-piercing shout. 

 

“Look out!”, the silver-masked thief yelled out, and his teammates followed by ducking downwards as Morgana, the small humanoid cat-creature the team has befriended, was sent flying towards them. Narrowly avoiding them, he was flying towards a steep incline in the tracks, ending in a twisted pile of lethal tracks. Ann, acting on instinct, quickly pulled her whip and threw one end towards her feline teammate, wrapping around his small torso. In the time since Ann had awakened to her powers back in April, she had become quite adept with her whip, to the point of grabbing something as small as Morgana while moving at such a high speed. She yanked it back towards her as she dashes forward, pulling Morgana to her. In her arms and with stars in his eyes, he pronounced, “Oh, Lady Ann, you have saved me! What shall I do to re-” Before he could finish offering a penance, Ann swiftly silenced him. “Cut the shit, Mona, what’s going on?” Morgana sighed at his princess, and pointed outwards. “Should be pretty obvious.” 

 

Beyond Ren and Futaba, Makoto rode Johanna towards the fight with Yusuke as a passenger, standing on the back end of the silver motorcycle with an almost impressive level of balance. The fight in question being none other than the Reaper, a massive Shadow that haunts the tunnels of Mementos. Shrouded in decaying cloth adorned in chains, wielding long, twin revolvers in each hand. Ryuji Sakamoto, with his pipe around the monster’s neck, is holding onto it’s backside while Goro Akechi and Haru Okumura are laying down suppressive fire upon it. Ren unsheathes his blade and runs towards the chaos. “Oracle!”, he shouts. As he runs, a bright green UFO flies over him, the Persona he knew as Necronomicon. “Already on it, Joker!”, she smugly says from with her ship. Bladed tentacles emerge from the bottom just the Reaper flings Ryuji off it’s backside, and she catches the boy in pirate armor, laying him back on the ground. Makoto rides by him, Yusuke providing cover with his assault rifle, still standing balanced on the cycle. Makoto remarks to her injured teammate, “Didn’t we tell you stay in the Mona-car?” Immediately after, she casts a healing spell on him, and as he stands, he retorts. “The effin’ thing ambushed us, we didn’t have much of a choice!” 

 

Necronomicon’s appendages wrapped around the torso of the great beast, and Futaba begins her scan. Green light begins emanating from her Persona, aggravating the Reaper even more. “Guys, it’s resisting, I need it distracted!”, she shouts. “Right.”, Ren responds. “Mona, you mind giving us a boost?” Morgana had only just caught up with him after Ann healed him, and he gives his leader a loyal nod. “Come, Zorro!”, he shouts. The large, masculine hero manifests and, per Morgana’s command, uses his sword to slice in a “Z” shape, creating a massive wind cyclone behind the three. The force of this wind sends Ren, Ann, and Morgana flying mid-air towards the chaotic battle. Morgana wields his scimitar and begins slashing at the Reaper the moment they make contact, while Ann wraps her whip around it’s head and right arm, prohibiting it from firing, and pulls out her SMG with her other hand, unleashing a hail of bullets on it’s head. Ren grabs it’s left arm and begins stabbing at the hand with his knife. When that happens to no avail, he grips his head and shouts a phrase that somehow hasn’t gotten tired over the last six months. “Persona!” His mask disappearing from his face in a blue flame, a strange, red woman covered in a huge circular dress manifests behind him. “Kaguya, Shining Arrows!” Without hesitation, she reaches towards the sky, and hail of spikes made of pure light energy pelt the Reaper, and it screams out in pain. In a fit of rage, the massive Shadow unleashes it’s most powerful attack, Megidolaon, and a huge magic explosion ripples around it sending the entire team flying away from it, injured. 

 

Morgana and Makoto, still standing, give each other a look of affirmation, before they both cast team-wide healing magic. The Phantom Thieves, now standing again, look to their leader for direction. “Oracle, did you get a scan off of it at least?”, Ren asked. Futaba, being helped up by Yusuke, responds. “Yup. Turns out it’s flu season.” Confused, Ann asks, “And? How the hell does that help us?” Akechi chimes in with his own observation, “The general public’s cognition is weak due to the widespread illness, meaning it must be weak right now.” Futaba nods her head in agreement, “Precisely, my bird-faced friend.” Akechi rolls his eyes, as he had grown to tolerate the orange-haired girl’s quirkiness. He relight’s his laser saber, ready for combat once again. “Joker, this thing has been stalking us for months now. This may be our one chance to take it down for good.”, Makoto says to her leader. Haru nods her head in agreement and adds, “We may not get another chance like this, we should take it.” Ren looks around and sees his teammates all nod their heads in unison, preparing their weapons for battle. Closing his eyes and nodding with them, he points forward at the Reaper and announces, “Phantom Thieves, let’s do this!”

 

The Phantom Thieves charged at the Reaper together, unleashing a flurry of gunfire and magic powers. Haru was launching rapid explosive ordinance on the Shadow while Akechi and Ann pelted it with their magic attacks. “Taste my wrath!”, the young ace detective shouted, summoning the man in tights, Robin Hood. He commands his Persona to use Debilitate, and the golden archer fires an arrow directly into it’s chest, weakening it’s physical state. Ann, following up with what he’s doing, summons her Persona in turn. “Hecate, burn it alive!” The Greek goddess of fertility manifested behind her, Ann unleashes a massive beam of fire magic, the technique she saw from some shonen anime Ryuji made her watch. The fiery plume smashed into the Reaper, slamming it against a wall, and as it recoiled from her attack, the monster raised one of it’s gun at Ren. Just as it pulled the trigger, Makoto leaped off Johanna and pushed him out of the way. Her laying on top of him, she took the opportunity to give her thanks. “Guess we’re even now after the pyramid, right?” Ren smirked back. “Guess we are.” Ryuji, who is pelting the beast with a hail of shotgun shells, runs over to help the two up, and they continue fight. He then begins to ponder something with his leader. “Y’know I’ve been thinkin’ about something, Joker.” 

Ren: “Alright, hit me.” 

Ryuji: “What are we going to do for Akechi?”

Ren: “You’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

Ryuji: “Well, whenever we get a new teammate, we throw a celebration, or party, y’know. But we haven’t thought about anything for Akechi.

Makoto: “Is this really the time for that, Skull?”

Ryuji: “I dunno, I just wanted to ask.”

Ren: “Well, we’ll deal with that when the time comes, and when we’re not fighting for our lives against a near-indestructible monster.” 

Akechi: “I agree with them, we should-”

 

Akechi didn’t have a chance to finish his sentence before he swiftly had to use his laser saber to block an incoming bullet from striking an already downed Morgana. The force sent him flying backwards into a wall, disorienting him. As he raised his head, he saw the business end of an elongated revolver barrel pointed directly at his face. Before he even had a chance to react, the Reaper fired, sending a bullet of pure dark magic hurling towards him. His final thoughts and life flashing before his were however cut short by a rather high pitched voice screaming from his side. “Tetrakarn!”, he heard. Seeing the bullet absorb into a barrier in front of him and spat out back at the Reaper, he turned to see Haru standing to his side, Milady behind her, panting heavily. Giving a silent thank you to the fast food princess, Akechi takes the opportunity of the Reaper being struck with it’s own bullet to initiate a counter-attack. He ran at the beast and repeatedly struck it with his saber, and when the Shadow attempted to strike back, he rolled backwards and pulled out his energy gun. Using it, it was like time was slowed down for the ace detective. Despite being only a child detective, and not even needing to carry a firearm, he had to take several lessons to use a pistol, as per the requirements of the SIU. To say he was a natural marksmen would be an understatement. One of Akechi’s most defining traits, after all, is his patience. Pulling the trigger, a beam of blue light shot out of the golden gun, striking the Reaper directly in one of it’s eyes, the monster recoiled in pain, blinded in one eye. With that critical of a shot, Akechi saw Yusuke running towards him. He knew exactly what to do next. 

 

By the time Yusuke caught up to the detective, he had already figured out what Akechi was attempting to do. The two clapped their opposite hands together, and Yusuke surged with energy. “Noir, would you mind giving me a boost?” With that, Haru giggled, and nodded. “It would be my pleasure!” She pulled out her grenade launcher, and fired at Yusuke’s feet, sending him soaring through the air towards his enemy. Doing several flips, he gripped his face, and summoned his Persona. “Kamu-Susanoo! Brave Blade!” Unleashing a massive slicing attack, Yusuke does an incredible feat the team has never even gotten close to achieving. He slices the Reaper’s right hand clean off. Screaming out in immense pain, the now hand-less right arm of the Shadow begins spewing red, dark magic-infused lightning at the Phantom Thieves. Futaba, reacting quickly, jumps out of Necronomicon and onto the battlefield herself, and initiates a last stand ability she had only recently learned, and never used. Raising her hands, several glyphs appear on the ground, and a massive shield appears over the entire team, completely nullifying the attack. Ann runs over to a now panting Futaba, and slaps her on the shoulder. “That was amazing, Futaba!” Smiling, she responded, “Thanks, but I think that used at least, like, half my skill points.” Ren, also congratulating her, places her hand on her shoulder. “Nice work, but the battle isn’t over yet.” Futaba nods her hand, and summons Necronomicon yet again, returning to her position to watch and influence the battle. Yusuke, still charged up with energy from that last attack, looks to his teammates to find another person to tag. “Queen!”, he shouts. Leaping off Johanna, Makoto runs to Yusuke and initiates yet another Baton Pass. Makoto summons Johanna once again, and begins riding donuts around the Reaper as it struggles to keep focus while being rained on by gunfire and magic. “Johanna, Atomic Flare!” Building up an immense amount of nuclear energy, Makoto unleashes it in a massive explosion, blowing a hole straight through the Reaper’s chest. Screaming in pain, the Shadow begins erratically firing at Makoto. Ryuji, who is fighting off some other Shadows who wandered into the battle alongside Akechi and Ren, sees Makoto riding towards him. Anticipating the final Baton Pass, Ryuji summons Captain Kidd, and charges himself. Surging in red, powerful energy, he runs towards Makoto, and while she is still riding Johanna at full speed, initiates a fully charged Baton Pass. Overflowing with energy and still keeping his momentum, Ryuji sprints towards the Reaper, and makes a super powered leap. The Shadow runs at him too, ready to strike. In mid-air, the skull-faced thief summoned his Persona, yelling at the top of his lungs, “CAPTAIN KIDD! GOD’S HAND!” A massive fist of metal and lightning began forming near Ryuji’s hand, and using it like a massive glove, it’s movements copied his own hand. With the force of a hurricane behind him, tears in his eyes, and screaming at the top of his lungs, Ryuji slammed the fist right into the Reaper, delivering a blow so powerful it created a massive, thunderous shockwave that sent all the Phantom Thieves flying. 

 

The dust settling, the Thieves manage to all stand up, all staring at the massive crater that Ryuji had created. Ann immediately runs towards it, worry in her eyes. “Ryuji? Ryuji?!”, she cried out. Eventually, the silhouette of her childhood friend stumbled out the crater, covered in damage and cuts. The two embrace, while the rest of the Thieves congratulate him. Even Morgana, who enjoys belittling his teammate, was dumbfounded. “That was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen…” Ryuji, laughing scoops up the creature and hugs him, “That’s a compliment I’ll take!” Embarrassed, Morgana squirms away from his arms and collects himself. 

Yusuke: “That was magnificent! Truly a strike of biblical brilliance!”

Futaba: “I think that was like, your ultimate move! You can’t go bigger than that!”

Makoto: I knew you were a good candidate to pass the energy off to, great work, Skull.

Haru: “That was an explosion the likes of which I could only dream of! A spectacle to behold!”

Ren: “Guess I’ll need to up my game. Great work, bro.”

 

While the rest of the team was in a group hug, Akechi, who hasn’t said anything, was looking cautiously at the smoldering crater. “Guys…?”, he whimpered to his teammates, who were still celebrating. “Guys!”, he shouts, succeeding in getting their attention. As they run over, the team is horrified to see the Reaper, still alive, begin to rise. It stumbles, falling back down again, clearly drained of it’s energy. The Thieves pull out their guns and begin to circle the downed Shadow. “Oracle…?”, Ren nervously asks. “It’s barely clinging to life.”, affirms Futaba. Smirking, Ren turns back to Ryuji, and asks, “Would you like to have the honor?” Smiling back, Ryuji begins to giggle. “I thought you’d never ask.”

“ALL-OUT-ATTACK!”


	2. A Daring Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phantom Thieves discuss their recent victory, a new problem arises, and Haru begins chipping away at the Detective Prince.

11/14

It was another normal night in Yongen-Jaya.  Being November, the weather was becoming more and more cold, the shops closing earlier at night.  However, Christmas lights had already begun springing up in the small neighborhood, a brief glimpse of the holiday cheer on it’s way.  However, this cold silence was cut short by the warping red, reality-torn rift opening in the backstreets of Yongen-Jaya. Eight teenagers, and what appeared to be a small black cat, stumbled out of the portal, and headed towards a little coffee shop known as Leblanc.

 

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts crowded into the small shop and all took seats, tired, beaten, broken, but victorious.  Sojiro Sakura, the humble cafe owner and father of Futaba, smirked and turned towards Ren while washing his dishes. “So, coffee for everyone then?”  Ren, sitting at the counter, turned to his tired and beaten friends, closed his eyes and shook his head. “Not tonight. I think water will do everyone just fine.”  Sojiro’s eyes lit up as he said this. After all, it’s not often Ren would turn down coffee, but it’s clear that for these kids, it’s been a long night. 

 

Waters in hand, the Thieves began discussing their mission.  Morgana, licking out of a small dish, led the conversation. “So, not only did we manage to bring down three targets, but we also managed to finally destroy the Shadow stalking us for 6 months now.  I don’t know about you guys, but I consider that a successful mission!” 

Akechi: “A mission we all surely would’ve failed in had it not been for Ryuji’s surprisingly tactical decision-making.”

Ann, pouting: “A decision that could’ve killed him!”

Yusuke: “Ann, I’m sure Ryuji took every variable into consideration before attempting such a maneuver.  Right?”

Ryuji, flustered: “Y-yeah, not r-really…”

Futaba: “What the hell, Skull?  Did you seriously not think about the consequences of a strike that powerful?  It’s a miracle your body could even handle that much energy!”

Ryuji: “I dunno!  I just saw an opportunity to protect you guys, I had to take it.  Even if it meant putting myself at risk.”

Haru: “I disagree with Futaba and Ann-chan.  To put your life on the line for the sake of others, that’s what it means to be a hero.  That’s what we do as Phantom Thieves. Right, Ren?”

Ren, nodding: “Right.  That’s exactly what we do.”

 

Sojiro really doesn’t get what’s going on in these conversations.  After all, he is a simple man who just wants to make his coffee. The extent of his Metaverse knowledge came from a rambling Wakaba Isshiki, to which he would nod his head pretending to understand.  It got annoying sometimes, but if it meant Sojiro got to see her and Futaba, he easily put up with it. But with her gone, he’s begun to miss her incessant babbling. Though, Futaba seems to have filled that hole quite well.  Despite this, he’s never really shown much interest in how the Metaverse works. As far as he is concerned, these teens disappear into another dimension for a few hours, and return for some coffee, littered with bruises and cuts.  Kind of a “Don’t ask, don’t tell” relationship. One he is very okay with. Though, he couldn’t help but be curious.

Sojiro: “This crap sounds pretty dangerous to this old man, should I be worried?”

Makoto: “No need for that, Boss.  We know exactly what we’re doing.”

Sojiro: “Hmph, I’ll hold you to that.”

Ann: “Yeah, don’t worry Boss, I’ll make sure Ryuji doesn’t do anything like that again!”  

Sojiro: “Uhhhh…”

Ryuji: “Eh, no promises.”

Just as Ann reached across the table to grab Ryuji’s collar and slap him, the room became interrupted by a phone ringing.  Makoto pulls the device from her skirt and looks at it. “Damn, it’s Sis. I’ll go outside to talk to her.” As Makoto left the shop, an awkward hush fell over everyone.  If there’s one thing Makoto is good at, it’s keeping a conversation going. 

 

It didn’t take long for the silence to break, however, when Haru noticed something.  She had been sitting next to Akechi with her hand placed on the seat in between them when she felt something wet on it.  Thinking it was water, she lifted her hand only to find something much worse than that covering her palm and fingers: blood.  Shrieking, Haru rushes away from the booth to see where it came from, while Futaba and Ryuji both recoil in shock. She saw the blood forming in a small pool next to Akechi’s hip.  Curious, she asks, “Akechi-kun, could you stand up for me?” Confused, he complies, “Uh, sure.” He begins to stand and exit the booth, and Haru lifts his jacket to reveal a massive gash on the left side of his stomach, with blood dripping out by the second.  Yusuke and Ann shriek in shock while Morgana gags, and Sojiro immediately pulls out his phone. 

Sojiro: “I’ll call Dr. Takemi!”

Ren: “No use, she’s out visiting a colleague in Inaba.  She won’t be back for another two days.”

Ann: “How the hell did this even happen, Akechi?”  

Akechi: “Beats me, guess I missed the team-wide healing before we left…”

Yusuke: “That’s a rather large cut, how would one miss such a wound?”

Futaba: “You know those detectives love to hide pain, Inari.  It’s a total stereotype!”

Akechi begins to roll his eyes whilst still holding up his shirt and jacket.  He very much knew of the wound, but seeing all the Thieves gathering around it reminded him exactly why he wanted it to be a secret in the first place.

Haru: “Boss, do you happen to have a first aid kit somewhere here?”

Sojiro: “Of course, top shelf in the bathroom.”

Haru: “Thank you, sir.”  

Taking Akechi’s free hand, she drags him into the bathroom as the rest of the Thieves look on, dumbfounded on what just transpired.  Sojiro, pinching the top of his nose, sighs. “Futaba, Ren, please clean and disinfect this mess.” Futaba instantly raises her hand in a salute, responding, “Aye-aye, Sojiro!”  Both her and Ren stand from their positions to begin cleaning the spilt blood off the floor and booth. 

 

Meanwhile in the bathroom, Akechi and Haru struggle to fit.  It’s an incredibly small room, barely enough to fit the toilet and sink.  While it isn’t exactly pristine, you can tell someone takes the time to make sure it’s clean.  As Akechi sits on the toilet, Haru stands over him and opens the first-aid kit, and begins pouring rubbing alcohol onto a cotton swab.  “Okumura-san, what exactly are you doing?”, asks the confused detective. “I took a few lessons in first-aid during my time in middle school.  I’m no expert, but I can surely clean and patch a wound. Now, this may sting a little.”, Haru responded. Keeping her word, she presses the swab hard against Akechi’s side, and he quietly attempts to hold back his cries of pain.  

 

“What do you suppose they’re doing in there?”, asks a curious Yusuke.  “I have a few ideas…”, Ryuji says with a grin, before being smacked in the back of the head by an irritated Ann.  “Can you be mature for even ten seconds?”, she muses. “I’m mature when I need to be!”, yells Ryuji back. What ensued was another one of their ever-famous arguments, which seems to happen at nearly every team meet up.  As Ren and Yusuke giggled at their bickering, Akechi screamed yet again from the bathroom.

 

“You...were not kidding...about the stinging…”, moaned the young detective.  “Don’t worry, the painful part is over. We’re almost done here.”, Haru said as she continued working.  Pulling out the needle and thread, she began attempting to stitching the wound, but was interrupting by the shaking of Akechi’s side.  Curious, she asks, “Goro, are you shivering?” His eyes lit up as she asked this, as hardly anyone referred to him by his first name. Sweating and shaking, he tried to respond, but his mouth was coming dry.  Haru, not buying it, tried again to pry at him. “Are you okay…?”, she asked, reaching for his face. Quickly, Akechi batted it away and looked downwards. “Please, just finish…”, the detective muttered. Quietly complying, she begins to finish the stitching.  

 

Now, Haru had known exactly who Akechi was.  A traitor who will sell them out and attempt to murder their leader.  Futaba and Ryuji have even theorized that he is the mysterious Metaverse assassin in the black mask.  It surely would add up, which means he was the one who killed her father.  She should hate him.  Yet, there was something off about Akechi.  When Haru looked at him, she always noted there was an odd sense of sad sincerity to him. Almost like he  _ enjoyed  _ working with them.  As if working as a Phantom Thief was a form of escapism for him.  When he batted her hand away, it didn’t feel like a vicious dog hurting for sport, but an abused puppy biting the hand that tries to feed it.  Akechi is the enemy, the bad guy, yet to her, he didn’t  _ feel _ like one.  But that didn't matter.  Not now, not ever.

 

Haru finished up the stitching, and the two silently walked out of the bathroom, and Akechi thanked her.  “Thank you, Okumura-san.” Haru giggled and shook her head. “Please, just call me Haru.”, she asked. Akechi nodded in compliance, and responded, “Thanks, Haru.”  The two then sat back down in the booth, with Ryuji giggling yet again, before he was stopped by Ann raising her open hand. The room erupted into conversation yet again before it was interrupted by the bell on top of Leblanc’s door, when Makoto walked back in, her head facing downwards.  Confused, Morgana asked, “What’s the matter, Queen?” Makoto raised her head, and through gritted teeth, answers, “We have a problem.”

* * *

 

“ _ A fucking ball?! _ ”, shouted an angry Ann.  “Watch your effin’ language, Panther!”, retorted Ryuji.  “It’s true,”, sighed Makoto. “Sis is attending the ball being held on the 19th, hosted by some politician.”  Curious, Yusuke asks, “What politician?” Makoto shakes her head, “I don’t know, she never told me.” Akechi gripped his legs, as he knew precisely which politician she was talking about.  After all, he was invited to the same ball, which he had no intention of intending. But now, he wasn’t so sure. Standing up, he exclaimed, “I received an invitation myself. I never really had any intention of going, of course.”  Haru stands up as well, saying, “I received an invitation as well. It seems my father made a few friends in the political sphere before his passing.” Futaba then butts in with her own words. “That’s all well and good, royal couple, but we have no way to deliver the calling card now!”  Yusuke and Ann nod their heads in agreement while Ryuji slams his fist into the table in anger. “Dammit, we can’t lose…”, to which Ren places his hand on the angry blonde’s shoulder. “We...we’ll find a way…”, Ren says, a hint of nervousness buried in his suave confidence. Akechi, scratching his chin, lights up his eyes as an idea bursts into his head.  “No...we can salvage this!”, he exclaims. The other Thieves begin facing him, all attention being put on Japan’s newest prodigy. “I..have a plan.”

 

A “plan” would be pushing it.  It was more of a concept, really.  “Well, we know Haru and I both have invitations, and from what I saw, an attendee is allowed to bring three guests.  Which means we both take three each.”, Akechi says.

Haru: “I suppose I’ll take the girls, and you take the boys.”

Akechi: “Precisely.  It’s a masquerade ball, meaning we’ll all wear masks.  Oh, and please wear nice clothes, Sakamoto.”

Ryuji: “The hell’re you lookin’ at me for?”

Futaba and Ren: *Giggling*

Akechi: “Anyway, Sae-san will most likely be located in the private lounge of the ship, meaning-”

Ann: “Wait, ‘ship’, what?”

Haru: “Oh, that’s right, we forgot to mention, the ball is taking place on a yacht!”

Morgana: “Who the hell hosts a party on a boat…”

Akechi: “Can we please get back on topic?  As I was saying, Sae-san will probably be in a private lounge, meaning none of us can get in, not even me.  This is where Futaba comes in.”

Futaba: “Oooooh, I like where this is going!”

Akechi: “You will be in charge of cutting all lights on the ship for sixty seconds, and our deliverer will give her the calling card directly.”

Futaba: “That’ll be a problem.  Regardless of the lights, there’ll be enough external lighting from the city and moon to get a general idea of who’s handing her the card.”

Akechi: “Hmmm…”

Ann: “Perhaps they could wear a black skin suit to completely conceal them?”

Makoto: “I doubt security would let in someone dressed as a ninja, plus that would require Mission Impossible-level gear to climb the side of the ship.”   


Ren: "Wait a sec..."

Makoto: "What?  I like those movies..."

Akechi: “Back to the plan, we simply send someone in through the front door, and distract security.  And hope the mask is enough to conceal their identity.”

Haru: “So it’s settled, all that is left is to decide who the deliverer is...”

 

What ensued was a wave of silence from the entire team, as they quietly thought of who should deliver the calling card.  Ann then perked up and broke the silence, exclaiming, “Why don’t we start with who  _ can’t _ deliver it?”  Akechi nodded his head in agreement, “Good idea, Takamaki-san.  It surely cannot be either I or Makoto, Sae would no doubt recognize us almost instantly.”

Haru: “And I can’t do it, Niijima-san has already asked me questions regarding my father, which means she would surely recognize me.”

Futaba: “I can’t do it, either!  Makoto’s sis basically tormented Sojiro all summer about me, I guarantee she’ll figure me out!  Oh, no offense, Makoto…”

Makoto: “None taken.”

Ryuji: “Well duh, it should be Ren, our leader!”

Ren: “Yeah, no.  Sae’s come into Leblanc enough to know who I am.  Plus my record doesn’t help me either.”

Ann: “So that leaves me or Ryuji.”

Makoto: “Yeah, about that.  You two are direct victims of the Kamoshida case, which I watched Sis study intensely when it first came up.  She no doubt knows you two extensively."

The room went quiet once, but it didn’t take long for Ren to speak up.  “Hey, Akechi?”, he asked. “Hm?”, responded the detective. “Did Sae study the Madarame case at all?”

Akechi: “Actually, no, not really.  Somebody else studied that case. Sae-san may have glanced at it, but nothing more.  And by the time she started taking the Phantom Thieves case full-on, Madarame already arranged for nearly everyone associated with him to be erased.  Why do you a-”

 

It didn’t take long for the ace detective to figure what Ren was getting at, and soon, the rest of the team followed as everyone turned towards the entrance of Leblanc to look at the team’s resident blue-haired artist.  Yusuke was staring off into space, probably capturing some mental image for a future project, before snapping back to reality. Seeing everyone staring, he asks...

 

“What are you all looking at?”

* * *

 

As the team poured out of Leblanc, tensions were high.  Fighting Shadows is one thing, but organizing a real-life heist?  Now that is what will truly test the Phantom Thieves’ resolve. Yusuke took a train back to the Kosei dorms, Ann and Ryuji took a train home, Makoto had a taxi take her, and Haru had her family limousine pick her up.  As Akechi prepared to walk to the subway station, Ren places a hand on his shoulder and stops him. “Hey, I’m glad you’re a part of this team, Crow.” Akechi looks up at his leader and smiles. “As am I.”, he responds.  Smiling back, Ren walks back into Leblanc and closes up for the night. Walking away, Akechi takes one last look at Leblanc and closes his eyes, muttering under his breath...

 

_ “As am I.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was Chapter 2 for you guys! Hope you all liked it! A lot of this chapter was set-up for future events to keep that in mind, as it is LITTERED with foreshadowing. Also, I'll be aiming for one chapter a month, so keep that in mind when waiting. Thanks again for reading!


End file.
